lidská práva v Číně
Who we are
We are a group of Czech comic book creators. Our aim is to create a work that responds to current events. We see art as an important tool for commenting on pressing issues and for conveying universal, moral values.
We set out on the path of realistic drawing so that readers could easily get to know the main characters, real destinations, structures and events.
Lidská práva v Číně
Our motivation
The prominent Czech writer Karel Čapek, in his works such as Krakatit, War with the Salamanders or The White Disease, made readers uneasy by writing about serious topics and catastrophic scenarios – rightly so. Not only when looking at history, but above all when looking at current events, we must continue with this incitement. What’s more, we ourselves have to roll up our sleeves and join the battle.
Why are we doing this?
With this comic, we want to add fuel to the fire of resistance and draw attention to crimes that cannot be tolerated: The abuse of life-saving science and the rise of the Communist Party’s totalitarian power in China, which has lost all moral impediments.
The reasons for creating this comic are basically personal. They are based on our belief that we need to stand up for the values we believe in and, conversely, to actively oppose what we are used to calling “evil.” We believe that it is necessary to talk about it, and why not do it through a comic that we love.
What our goal is
We want to motivate readers to take a greater interest in what is happening in China today and the problem of the abuse of transplant surgery in order to liquidate dissidents and monetize their organs.
Main brain behind the project
The main coordinator and “engine” of the whole project is journalist Milan Kajínek. A fan of comics, movies and good literature, as well as a long-time China editor, human rights activist and publicist. You can find out more about him on the profile here.
How it began
The idea to create a comic on this topic was conceived several years ago. Favorable conditions for more serious steps did not appear until June 2020, when the first part of the photographic script and the skeleton of a story that could be told in a “comic book style” were created quite quickly.
“I personally met several people who are depicted in the story during their visit to Prague in 2014. I wrote about them several times in newspaper articles and, as a fan of comics, I naturally projected scripts in my head about their work and thought about how a comic book about their investigation would look,” says Milan Kajínek, project coordinator. “Comics are such a universal, international language. It is also a medium that is dignified enough to tell important, real stories. That’s why I opted for it in the end.”
What can you change if you support us?
With your help, we can create comics in Czech, English and Chinese. Your contribution will help to make more people aware of the problem, thereby accelerating the resolution of the unacceptable human rights situation in China.
What works inspired us
War with salamanders – (Jan Štěpánek) 1989
Arnal – (Ondřej Neff a Kája Saudek) 2002
Waltz with Bashir – (Ari Folman) 2008
Holmes: La Dame de Scutari (Cecil & Bruncschwig) 2016
Gotham Central (Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka) 2016
Fany a pes – (Matthias Bruhn, Ralf Kukula) 2019
Question marks over China’s transplant industry
Since 1999, the transplant industry has been experiencing unprecedented development throughout China. From a few dozen transplant centers, the number has grown to the several hundred that exist today. According to research, their minimum annual turnover is 60,000 transplants.
The questions posed by the massive development of the transplant industry in China are also the main topic of our comics.
Where do the large number of organs come from, who are their “donors”, why do hospitals keep their identities secret? And how is it possible that they provide vital organs within 14 days and transplant them on pre-arranged dates?
Investigators have come across statements from former political prisoners that selected groups of detained dissidents are forced to undergo medical examinations, which are strikingly reminiscent of examinations of organ donors before transplantation. Such political prisoners then disappear without a trace from their cells.
The factual sources on which we rely
Below we offer several sources, investigative reports and references dealing with the investigation of cases of abuse of prisoners of conscience in China for organ transplantation:
ETAC – International Coalition of Investigators
International Judicial Tribunal in London (2019)
Bloody Harvest – investigative Report (2006-2009)
The Slaughter – seven years of field research (2014)
Summary investigative Report – B.H.S. An Update (2016)
International Response to Investigation Reports – Summary (COHRC)
